有這樣一道考題：
_________, he talks a lot about his favorite singers after class.
A. A quiet student as he may be B. Quiet student as he may be
C. Be a quiet student as he may D. Quiet as he may be a student
這道題很有一定難度。具體說來，它主要涉及兩個考點：一是讓步狀語從句倒裝後的詞序問題。讓步狀語從句之所以要採用倒裝結構，主要是為了強調位於句首的名詞、形容詞、副詞、動詞等，其詞序形式為：被強調的成分+as / though + 主語+動詞。二是在倒裝的讓步狀語從句中，位於句首的單數可數名詞是否帶冠詞的問題。按照英語習慣，英語中的單數可數名詞在泛指時，一般要有不定冠詞的修飾，但是位於倒裝讓步狀語從句句首的單數可數名詞是個例外，即使泛指其前也不加不定冠詞。由此可知，上面這道考題的答案應為B。
為了幫助大家全面掌握讓步狀語從句的倒裝用法，本文將這類語法現象歸納為以下五種句型：
一、名詞+as / though+主語+動詞
King as he was, he was unhappy. 他雖是國王，但他並不幸福。
Child as he is, he knows to help other. 他雖是個孩子，但卻知道幫助別人。
Teacher though he is, he can’t know everything. 他雖然是老師，但也不可能什麼都懂。
【說明】其中的動詞通常為連繫動詞，也就是說位於句首的名詞是其後連繫動詞的表語。另外，要特別注意位於句首的名詞前習慣上不用冠詞，即使其前有形容詞修飾也不用冠詞。比較：
Boy as [though] he is, he likes to play with girls.=Though [Although] he is a boy, he likes to play with girls. 他雖是男孩，卻喜歡與女孩子玩。
Strong man as [though] he is, General Botha has been severely put to the test during the past few weeks.= Though [Although] he is a strong man, General Botha has been severely put to the test during the past few weeks. 波賽將軍雖然堅強，但在過去的數週裡也受到了嚴峻的考驗。
二、形容詞+as / though+主語+動詞
Successful as he is, he is not proud. 他雖然成功，但不驕傲。
Improbable as it seems, it’s true. 雖然看起來不太可能，但卻是真的.。
Stupid as it sounds，I was so in love with her that I believed her. 儘管聽起來很愚蠢，我是如此愛她竟然相信了她的話。
Patient as he was，he didn’t like waiting that long. 他雖說有耐心，也不願等這麼長。
Beautiful though the necklace was，we thought it was over-priced. 那條項鍊雖然很漂亮，我們認為價錢太高。
【說明】其中的動詞也通常為連繫動詞，也就是說位於句首的形容詞是其後連繫動詞的表語。
三、副詞+as / though+主語+動詞
Much as I like Paris, I couldn’t live there. 儘管我喜歡巴黎，但我不能住在那裡。
Hard though they tried, they couldn’t make her change her mind. 儘管他們做了很大努力，卻沒法讓她改變主意。
Fast as you read, you can’t finish the book in two days. 儘管你讀得很快，你總不能在兩天之內就讀完這本書。
He was unable to make much progress, hard as he tried. 儘管他做了努力，卻未能取得很大進步。
Heavily as it is raining, the football game has been decided not to be put off. 儘管雨下得很大，但還是決定不推遲足球比賽。
【說明】有的詞典將much as 作為習語看待，認為它是一個用以引導讓步狀語從句的複合連詞。再如：
Much as I admire him as a writer，I do not like him as a man. 他作為一名作家我很佩服他，但我卻不喜歡他這個人。
Much as I like you, I couldn’t live with you. 我儘管很喜歡你, 卻不能和你在一起生活。
四、動詞原形+as / though+主語+動詞
Object as you may, I’ll go. 縱使你反對，我也要去。
Try as he might, he couldn’t solve the problem. 儘管他想方設法，卻未解決這個問題。
Search as they would, they would find nobody in the house. 無論怎樣搜查，他們在房子裡仍然沒有找到一個人。
Dislike him as we may, we must acknowledge his greatness. 儘管我們不喜歡他，但必須承認他的偉大。
Lose money as I did, we got a lot of experience. 錢雖然丟了，我們卻得到了許多經驗。
Fail in the election as he did, he became famous for his fiery speech against slavery. 儘管落選了，但他卻以其反對奴隸制的激烈演說而出了名。
【說明】主語後的動詞通常為may, might, would, did 等情態動詞或助動詞(若表示情態意義，則選用情態動詞;若陳述事實，則用did, do 等助動詞)。
五、分詞+as / though+主語+動詞
Raining hard as it is, I’m going out for a walk. 雖然正在下著大雨，我還是要出去散步。
Surrounded as we were by the enemy, we managed to march forward. 雖然我們被敵人包圍著，但我們還是設法前進了。
Munching the apple as he was, he had got an eye for all John’s movements. 他儘管在一個勁地嚼著蘋果，但仍警惕著約翰的一舉一動。
【三條補充說明】
1. 這類倒裝的讓步狀語從句可用as, though 來引導，但不能用although來引導;但是，未倒裝的讓步狀語從句則可用though, although來引導，而不能用as來引導。也就是說，although引導讓步狀語從句時不能倒裝，as引導讓步狀語從句時必須倒裝，而though引導讓步狀語從句時可以倒裝也可以不倒裝。如：
雖然很晚了，但我們還是繼續工作。
正：Late as [though] it was, we still went on working.
正：Though [Although] it was late, we still went on working.
誤：Late although it was, we still went on working.
誤：As it was late, we still went on working.
2. 上面提到的倒裝結構有時也可用來表示原因，區別的辦法主要看句子的內容：讓步從句的內容大多數與主句在意義上相反，而原因從句則與主句之間有因果關係。比較：
Tired as he was, he sat up late studying at night. 昨晚他雖然很疲倦了，但還是學習到很晚才睡。(表讓步)
Tired as he was, he went to bed early. 因為很累，所以他睡得很早。(表原因)
Young as he was, he was equal to the task. 他雖年輕，卻能勝任這項工作。(表讓步)
Young as he was, he was not equal to the task. 他因為年輕，所以不能勝任這項工作。(表原因)
3. 在美國英語中，人們通常用as…as引導讓步狀語從句。如：
Cold as it was, we went out.=As cold as it was, we went out. 儘管天氣冷，我們還是出去了。
Successful as he is, he is not proud.=As successful as he is, he is not proud. 他雖成功了，但不驕傲。
